That One Night
by kingspensieve
Summary: The Fidelius Charm has been cast, and the Potters are safely hidden away. At 21, James has toned down his attitude but is impulsive as ever. He can't stand being cooped up and decides to go see Sirius to find out what's been happening in the Order of the Phoenix and the war. His actions, though, may have consequences he never considered. Two-part short story. Part Two Complete.
1. Part One

**That One Night**

_Part One_

He was going out again. She'd asked him not to so many times. But he just couldn't stand being cooped up in this house for long.

James was upstairs packing a small emergency backpack, while Lily sat downstairs watching Harry play on the floor. She looked up when she heard his footsteps on the stairs.

"Where'd I put that cloak, Lil?" he asked, looking around the sitting room. She looked back down at Harry, who had starting playing with the My First Potions Kit that Severus had given him on his birthday.

"It's in the bottom of the wardrobe, right where I put the last time you came back and left it out," she sighed quietly. It didn't seem to register with James that she was really uncomfortable with him leaving the safety of the house and leaving her alone there.

"Aha!" James slung the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and walked over to crouch down next to Harry, "Hey, kid. Give me a hug; Daddy's going out for a while." Harry climbed to his feet and latched onto his father. Lily smiled for a moment, before looking away again.

"Lily, I'll only be a couple of hours," James set Harry back at his play-set and sat next to her, "We've only been under the Fidelius for a week, and in that time we've become completely shut off from the Order. I'm going to meet Sirius, get an update on what's happening, and I'll be back."

"And what if you're not?" she asked quietly, "Every time you leave the wards, you put yourself at risk. What if they catch you? Is this so important that you're willing to risk not coming home?"

"We need to know what's happening. Right now, the Ministry and Hogwarts could have fallen, and we wouldn't know it. A few people know where we are. What happens if they're all taken? No one will be able to contact us," he looked her in the eye, "Two hours. That's it. That's all I'll be gone. I've got the cloak. I've got a wand, and I know how to use it. You and Harry will be safe as long as you stay in the house. It's 11:20 right now. I'll be back around one or half past. No worries."

"I really wish you wouldn't. But I know you will...," Lily took a deep breath, "Be safe, won't you? Don't let Sirius talk you into something idiotic. You know he'll try to. And maybe...if this is going to be recurring...we could let someone else in the charm, so I wouldn't have to be by myself, worrying the whole time." She didn't say who, specifically, to let in on the Fidelius Charm, but James caught on immediately.

"What if he's the spy, Lil?" he said harshly, "He could get in here and do You-Know-Who's work for him. We know there's a spy in the order. What if it's him?"

"James, for Merlin's sake, Remus doesn't even know where we are for the same reason! Even if all of the werewolves are joining You-Know-Who, I highly doubt that Remus is among them. And he's your friend. You know it's not either of them. We can't just shut out our friends. We need people we can rely on."

"I don't want to believe he is, but that's completely beside the point. He's closer to You-Know-Who than anyone else in the Order. He almost became one of them. He was this close," he held up two fingers barely separated, "to following Lucius Malfoy right into the fold like a lost little puppy. Forgive me if I lack more faith in him than in my friends."

"He's my friend, though," said Lily, "And I trust him as much as you trust Sirius. He would not harm us; he's a Healer, James! His oaths actually prevent him killing."

"He doesn't have to kill you or Harry to drag you outside the wards."

"James. Enough. If you're determined to leave us to go meet Sirius for a few hours every week, I want someone that I trust here with me and Harry. I want you to tell Sirius to have Peter let him know where we are," Lily told him. She had given in on him leaving the wards to meet Sirius, but this would be her condition for doing so. James either had to agree or stay home, and he understood the message.

"Fine. I'll have them add Snape tomorrow," it looked as though the idea left a particularly bad taste in his mouth, but he nodded, "He doesn't have the Mark anyway, so I feel better about that. And I suppose he does know more curses than anyone except the Death Eaters themselves. Probably the person most able to do any protecting, if it comes right down to it, even if his protecting falls just shy of shady." He gave Lily a small smile, which she returned.

"You should go if you're going," she said. He nodded and rose to fasten the Invisibility Cloak firmly on his shoulders. With only his head visible, floating in midair, he leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the cheek. A quick ruffle of Harry's hair later, he was out the front door. A moment after the door closed, Lily heard the _crack_ of Apparition and went to lock the door.

Lily caught Harry rubbing his eyes and yawning and decided to put him to bed. She put his little Potions kit away in the small toy box they kept behind James's chair and picked him up. Singing a Muggle lullaby that fascinated James, she carried Harry up the stairs and tucked him into his crib. He had fallen asleep while she had carried him. Lily brushed the hair that was rapidly becoming his father's back from his face and smiled at him. Her little boy was growing so fast.

She left and went to find a book from the bedroom to read until James got home. She had just walked into the room when she felt a disturbance in the magic around them and heard the unmistakeable click of a lock. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told her it was midnight; James wouldn't be back, not yet. Nor would he have used magic to unlock the door. He had a key. She mentally ran through the tiny list of people who had been informed of their hiding place: Sirius, Peter, Albus, and Minerva. Lily swallowed. None of them would have disturbed the magic. They were all keyed not to set off the alarm. That left only one option: someone who had not been keyed to the alarm had been told of their location. Lily took the steps back across the hall to Harry's room at a silent sprint.

She locked the door, all the while knowing it wasn't going to do any good. There were footsteps at the bottom of the stairs. There was a pause, then they began climbing. Lily went to Harry and crouched in front of the crib. At her quiet sniffle, he opened his eyes and reached for her through the bars. She held his hand to her face and closed her eyes, wondering what she could possibly do and knowing there was only one thing she could do.

"Mama," Harry said. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

The footsteps had reached the landing. The lock clicked.

_"Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong."_

* * *

-Quote: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two

*A/N This is Part One of a two part story that may turn into more later but will technically be complete. There aren't many stories out there (that I've seen) that take this route, and I've been wanting one. So... I made one. Also, general places, characters, etc., - obviously not mine.


	2. Part Two

**That One Night**

_Part Two_

He didn't understand what was being said; he only knew that Albus Dumbledore was still talking. The funeral was dragging on. So many people had talked already. Everyone seemed to have something to say. He had an almost overwhelming urge to check his watch; it felt as though he'd been standing there for hours. Of course, time didn't really matter that much anymore, not to him. He just wanted to take his son and go home…to whatever home there was left.

It had been a week since James had come home to find his world broken on the nursery floor of a dark house. The front door had been just barely opened, and he had been able to hear Harry's cries from the yard. Upstairs, Lily lay on the floor in front of the crib, eyes unseeing, covered in debris from an unidentified blast. It had taken several minutes for him to process. He'd not been able to react to Harry. The only thing that he knew was that Lily was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back.

Eventually, he'd been able to pull himself together long enough to Floo Dumbledore. The headmaster had arrived soon after with Healer Severus Snape. All around James, the Order was being mobilized. Sirius was hunting Peter; Snape was managing the postmortem exam; Death Eaters were slowly being rounded up. Things were happening, but James just sat in a corner and held his son.

Now, here in the cemetery at Godric's Hollow, he stood between Remus and Sirius and waited for all of the attendees to leave. He hadn't been able to hold back tears, so Sirius had a grip on his shoulder while Remus rocked a sleeping Harry. On Remus's other side stood Snape. The man looked almost as bad as James, jaw clenched against the flood of emotion. He stood together with the other three. Unfortunate, really, that it had taken such a tragedy to bring them to the same point.

Finally, Dumbledore stepped away from the grave and made his way over to them. Everyone followed him over to James to shake his hand before they left for the Apparition point. After what seemed like a thousand people, it was only the five of them left standing there.

"Well," sighed Dumbledore, "I should be getting back to headquarters. I believe the ladies have prepared a lunch for everyone." He laid a hand on James's arm. "Take your time, James. They'll keep it warm for you. I shall see the rest of you soon." With that, Dumbledore strode off towards the Apparition point. The four watched him disappear before any of them moved.

James left them to go sit on the bench by Lily's grave.

Sirius took a deep breath and turned to the other two. His eyes rested on Harry for a moment before he spoke. "I'm, uh, I'm just going to wait here with him for a bit," he said, "Anyway. I'll make sure he actually, you know, comes back to headquarters." He paused for a minute, looking very much like there was something he couldn't quite bring himself to say. "Okay, look," he directed this towards Snape, "It's sort of a new day for everyone. I thought we might could say clean slate and start over. You've been nothing but helpful the past week, and even though we've been civil for years, it just seems useless to continue with the tension. You're a Healer, not a Death Eater, and you were Lily's best friend, so…yeah…" He trailed off again. He looked extremely uncomfortable, and Remus just looked between the two.

There was a rather long pause in which Sirius shifted and Snape stared blankly at him. Then, Snape nodded slightly and said, "Truce, Black. Fair enough." Sirius let out a relieved breath and turned to go stand near James. Snape and Remus quietly left the cemetery and Apparated away.

* * *

Harry had woken from the jolt of Apparition and was rather upset at the abruptness of the landing. He started to sniffle and cry again; he'd been doing that a lot lately, always asking for his mother. It had gotten to the point that James had to pass him to one of the others to explain again and again.

"Shh, Harry, it's okay," Remus was rocking him again. They entered headquarters and moved out of the entryway. He looked over at Snape. "Severus? Do you mind taking him for a moment? He always calms down for you, and I really need to talk to Dumbledore."

Remus left, and Severus moved to a chair and sat Harry in his lap in the corner of the sitting room. Harry, as always, was immediately fascinated by his hair and began playing with it. Severus raised an eyebrow and tried to free himself from Harry's determined little fingers.

"You are a very strange child," he said quietly, "I used to think it was your father's fault, but I'm not so sure anymore. Your mother was a strange child, too, at least to me. You have her eyes, you know… just her shade of green." He raised a hand and ran his thumb around Harry's eyes. The little boy just blinked at him before smiling and reaching for his hair again.

"Sevvy!" Harry babbled, still determined to play with Severus's hair. Severus let him for a while. He was lost in thought, in memories.

He had no idea how long they sat like that, Harry trying to tie his hair in all sorts of knots, when the front door opened again, and James and Sirius stepped inside. James still had that lost look on his face and barely paused when he saw Harry in Severus's lap. He quickly passed by them and entered the kitchen. Sirius stepped over to pet Harry's head before following his friend. After a moment, Severus decided he and Harry might as well join everyone else and rose to follow.

Most of the Order seemed to be taking the day off in honor of Lily's funeral. The kitchen was crowded, and Severus was sure there was enough food on the table to feed a small army. Glancing around, he supposed that the Order could count as a small army… He saw Remus making his way to him from the other side of the room. The other man looked much more relaxed than when he had left a while earlier.

"They caught Peter," he said, grinning in a way that reminded Severus of the wolf, "He was staying in an inn in Ottery St. Catchpole. We think he was planning on using his Animagus form to stay hidden, but he apparently changed back to have dinner, and someone recognized him and called the Aurors." He lifted Harry from Severus's arms and grinned again.

"What have they planned for him?" asked Severus.

"They said Crouch was pushing to sentence without a trial, but Dumbledore convinced him to schedule one. It's this weekend. Dumbledore said that the trial is more for Lily's friends and family than for anything else. To put Peter on the spot in front of everyone. Then, he'll go to Azkaban."

Severus frowned, "What about the Kiss?"

Remus shook his head, "No one can prove that Peter actually did anything illegal. The only thing ensuring that he even goes to Azkaban is the Mark. If he didn't carry the Dark Mark, they wouldn't be able to hold him on anything besides being an informant. I'm not sure what the sentence will be, though. You'd have to ask Sirius or another Auror. They know the mandates." Something caught his attention, and he left Severus standing just inside the kitchen door.

It was still hard to compartmentalize. Severus searched for something to occupy himself. There were too many people around for him to fall apart again. He was sure Dumbledore didn't want to have to pull him back together like he had had to that night. It had been so hard, almost too hard, to perform the analysis on Lily's body. He couldn't quite get the image of her blank eyes out of his head.

He'd agreed to do the investigation because he'd not trusted any other Healer with her, but following Dumbledore to Godric's Hollow that night had been an act of sheer will. Treating her like any other victim had been next to impossible. Afterwards, though, after her body had been removed, he'd intended to go home and drink until he forgot the night. He'd been determined not to cry until he was alone. Unfortunately, Dumbledore knew him too well and invited himself to stay over until Severus was back in control. When Sirius had taken Harry and James back to his flat, Dumbledore had steered Severus home and made tea laced with Calming Draught. While the experience had been aggravating, Severus thought he'd never been so glad to just have silent company.

Pulling himself out of his musings, Severus spotted a familiar figure hiding in the far corner of the kitchen. Grabbing a Butterbeer from the counter, he joined the other in the corner, out of the way of the rowdy bunch.

Regulus nodded at Severus as he neared.

"How are you?" asked Severus.

"Better, now that no one's calling any more gatherings," Regulus rasped.

Severus looked hard at him. "You sound like one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewt's. What's wrong?"

"Let's just say that Lucius Malfoy has a mean Cruciatus."

Severus quickly set his Butterbeer on a small table and pulled Regulus into the hall. "You were hit with a Cruciatus Curse, and you haven't sought treatment for it yet? Your brother's Gryffindor is rubbing off on you, Reg." Before Regulus could say another word, Severus was running diagnostic charms and frowning at the results. "Right. You need to eat. You need to eat, you need to rest, and you need several doses of Post-Cruciatus Potion. What in Merlin's name made Malfoy curse you?"

"I believe it had something to do with a toddler proving the Dark Lord fallible. It might also have included a bit much doubt on my part in the leadership abilities of Malfoy and his cronies. I was preoccupied, though." Regulus's voice was still hoarse, but there was something in his tone that caught Severus's attention.

"Preoccupied with what, exactly?" he asked.

Regulus smirked, "The Dark Lord isn't dead, not really, not yet. The Mark has faded, but it's still there."

"And why does that make you smile?"

Regulus lowered his voice, "Because the Dark Lord believed himself to be immortal, invincible. His followers believed him. At the moment, they are all in an uproar over his disappearance. No one knows for certain what happened or where he is, but they know that at least a piece of him is still alive. And they're right. A _piece _of him is still alive. At least one piece, but a piece nonetheless."

Severus stared at Regulus for a moment, processing. A piece was still alive. Just a piece. Late nights studying in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library suddenly came flooding back. _Magick Moste Evil_. Chapter Eight. Immortality. Souls.

"He made a Horcrux?" Severus's voice was almost too low for Regulus to hear, "What do you mean, at least one piece? Are you saying you think he made more than one? Split his soul more than once?" His horror broke through his normally indifferent mask.

"Most likely. I am certain there is at least one. Dumbledore is currently researching the Dark Lord; he hopes to discover whether or not there are more. The one I know of is waiting to be retrieved. We know where it is but are not certain how to destroy it yet."

Severus was still mostly appalled at Regulus's claim. "You're still smiling. Why is this a good thing?"

"Because we know he can be killed. Destroy the Horcux and any others, and the Dark Lord is nothing but a mortal man."

Severus thought back to Lily. They had all heard that Voldemort claimed to be immortal. Most of them had not really believed it. But if Regulus was right, and there was at least one Horcrux in existence, then the dark wizard was still out there. He had killed Lily. Due to Lily's sacrifice, he had not been able to kill Harry. Now, he was gone. How long did they have before he found a way to regain his body? He was perhaps weak after his failure, but how long would that last?

He looked over to where James was sitting at the table with Harry in his lap. James looked up, and their eyes met across the room. It didn't matter, Severus thought, whether or not there were multiple Horcruxes. Destroy the Horcrux, destroy the man. They knew; they could prepare. It would take some time for Voldemort to be able to regain any sort of form. His servants had been scattered. Most were imprisoned, but there were still many who had managed to escape the Ministry and Azkaban. At that very moment, Lucius Malfoy was paying off several upper-level Ministry employees in order to secure his freedom. But none of that mattered. Not now. Now, they would mourn their dead and put their lives back together as much as they could. They would find some semblance of normalcy. Then, they would begin the hunt to send the demon back to Hell, for good this time. Severus found himself very much looking forward to that moment.

As James turned his attention back to his son, Severus stepped forward to join the table. He took a seat next to Remus and reached for a chicken leg. Harry smiled at him as he smeared more mashed potatoes across his face. Severus stared back into those bright green eyes and gave a small smile. Yes, he was very much looking forward to that moment.


	3. Notice of Continuation

I've noticed there was a fair bit of interest in this story. A few reviews expressed interest in continuing to read about this alternate world. Well, there are currently two other short stories that tie into this base story. "Opportunities" and "I, Who Have Gone Further" are both companions to "That One Night". Additions to the story-line will continue to be posted as separate one-shots for now, so look for those if you're still interested. The readership is appreciated.


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